Pumpkin Chocolate Cupcakes

Cupcakes are approximately so many years out-dated they’re cool again, yes?

I needed a vehicle for fat dollops of vanilla bean buttercream, and had an open can o’ pumpkin in the fridge. So, I made these cupcakes. I used the ‘best chocolate cupcake ‘recipe from my book, and my recipe for pumpkin chai cupcakes to swirl together to make these pretties. I changed the amount of leavening agents ever-so-slightly, so don’t swirl the original recipes together and expect nirvana. I did that once. No bueno.

While my swirl technique leaves a lot to be desired, the flavor of these cupcakes do not. It’s fantastical how well the spiced pumpkin batter goes with the dark chocolate. Chocolate likes spice; this I’ve known for quite some time. So, if your mind (and stomach) is a little over the pumpkin spice-everything food group this time of year, try pumpkin and chocolate! Pumpkin is a vegetable, after all, so we’re required to eat it. It’s not our fault if it tastes best with brown sugar and vanilla bean buttercream. It’s just the way God made pumpkin.

I should mention this recipe make 6 cupcakes. My standard cupcake recipes make just 4, but when these two batters are combined, it makes a few more cupcakes. We can’t complain about two extra cupcakes now, can we? We just eat them. Have you noticed you can’t take a bit into a cupcake without smiling?

One final note: you’ll be using the whole egg in the recipe, though it will be divided between the two batters. The chocolate batter gets the yolk; the pumpkin batter gets the white. But if you’re ever left with extra egg whites or yolks, I have a handy guide for using up leftover eggs.

When ready to fill the pan, mix the dry ingredients for the chocolate cupcakes into its wet ingredients. Then, mix the dry ingredients for the pumpkin cupcakes into its wet ingredients. You have two separate batters.

Layer the batters in the cupcake liners, swirling if you like. I did a layer of chocolate on the bottom, followed by pumpkin, chocolate, and finally pumpkin. I didn't swirl the batter together for the cupcakes you see in the photos--the baking soda in the chocolate batter will make it rise up around the slightly denser pumpkin batter. Lovely!

Bake the cupcakes for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with only moist crumbs.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 1 minute, and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting: beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the powdered sugar, vanilla bean, vanilla extract, and salt while continuously beating.

Add the heavy cream, starting with just 1 tablespoon of the cream, and add more if needed to make the perfect frosting consistency.

I made these last night..... and all I can say is that I'll be making them AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN. They're perfect!!! My husband and I, shockingly, liked them without frosting almost more than with the frosting!

As Seen On

Dessert for Two is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.